The present invention is generally directed to deposition of thin films and growth of bulk materials. In particular, the present invention is directed to non-thermionic, plasma-enhanced sputtering techniques.
A wide variety of techniques exist for depositing thin films onto substrates in order to achieve desirable properties which are either different from, similar to, or superior to the properties of the substrates themselves. Thin films are employed in many kinds of optical, electrical, magnetic, chemical, mechanical and thermal applications. Optical applications include reflective/anti-reflective coatings, interference filters, memory storage in compact disc form, and waveguides. Electrical applications include insulating, conducting and semiconductor devices, as well as piezoelectric drivers. Magnetic applications include memory discs. Chemical applications include barriers to diffusion or alloying (e.g., galling), protection against oxidation or corrosion, and gas or liquid sensors. Mechanical applications include tribological (wear-resistant) coatings, materials having desirable hardness or adhesion properties, and micromechanics. Thermal applications include barrier layers and heat sinks. Bulk materials can be used as substrates upon which thin films can be deposited and microelectronic and optical devices can be fabricated.
Thin-film techniques typically entail several sequential process steps. Generally, a source of film-forming material is supplied, the material is transported to the substrate, and deposition occurs on the substrate surface. The material transport step occurs in a contained environment such as a chamber containing a vacuum, one or more gaseous fluids, and/or a plasma medium. Deposition behavior is determined not only by the source and transport factors but also by deposition surface factors. Such surface factors include the substrate surface condition (e.g., surface roughness, contamination, degree of chemical bonding between the surface and the arriving material, and crystallographic or epitaxial parameters); the reactivity of the arriving material (e.g., the sticking coefficient, which provides an indication of the probability of arriving molecules reacting with the surface and becoming incorporated into the film); and the energy input (e.g., substrate temperature, positive-ion bombardment, and chemical reactions). The results of the deposition can be analyzed, and one or more process conditions can be modified as appropriate in order to obtain the specific film properties desired. Process control and monitoring steps are usually carried out at all key points along the process. Post-deposition annealing procedures can also be employed to activate grain growth, alter stoichiometry, introduce dopants, or deliberately cause oxidation.
Deposition processes are broadly delineated into xe2x80x9cphysicalxe2x80x9d vapor deposition (PVD) processes and xe2x80x9cchemicalxe2x80x9d vapor deposition (CVD) processes, although some processes might better be characterized as being hybrids of PVD and CVD processes. The source of material supplied to the deposition system can be a solid, liquid, vapor, or gas. Solid materials must be vaporized in a PVD process in order to transport them to the substrate. Vaporization is accomplished either by employing a thermal technique (e.g., evaporation) or by providing an energetic beam of electrons, photons (e.g., laser ablation), or positive ions (e.g., sputtering). On the other hand, CVD techniques utilize gases, evaporated liquids, or chemically gasified solids as source materials. In both PVD and CVD processes, contamination is a critical factor during the source supply step, as well as in the transport and deposition steps. The source supply rate is also a critical factor, as film properties can vary with deposition rate and, in the case of compound films, with the ratio of elements supplied.
One common PVD process entails thermal evaporation, which is often accomplished by using a twisted-wire coil, a dimpled sheet-metal xe2x80x9cevaporation boat,xe2x80x9d or a heat-shielded crucible. In thermal evaporation, thermal energy alone (i.e., joule heating) is utilized to drive the evaporation, reaction and film structure development. On the other hand, several known deposition processes exist in which the primary source of energy can be characterized as being essentially xe2x80x9cnonthermal.xe2x80x9d In these xe2x80x9cenergy-beamxe2x80x9d techniques, energy is delivered by electrons, photons or ions (usually positive ions) to vaporize the source material, activate the source material during transport, or modify film structure during deposition. Common energy-beam techniques used to carry out vaporization can be broadly categorized as electron-beam, cathodic-arc, anodic-arc, pulsed-laser, ion-beam sputtering, and glow-discharge sputtering processes. Clear differences exist between the first four techniques and the two sputtering techniques. In the first four techniques, electrons (via an electron beam), ions (via an arc) or photons (via a pulsed laser) are directed at the source material in a narrow beam having a diameter of approximately a few millimeters. Conversely, the ion beams and glow discharges employed in the sputtering techniques cover a much broader area. Additionally, the use of narrow beams leads to intense heating of the source material at the point of impact, so that the vaporization mechanism is thermal even though the energy input is non-thermal. By contrast, vaporization by sputtering involves direct momentum transfer from bombarding ions to the surface atoms of a relatively cool source material.
There are several advantages to using energy beams for vaporization as compared to joule-heated sources. First, virtually any material, no matter how refractory, can be vaporized. In the narrow-beam processes, this is a result of the very high energy density and surface temperature that is achieved. In sputtering, the advantage results from the fact that the bombarding ions have energies far exceeding chemical-bond strengths which typically are only a few electron volts (one electron volt, or 1 eV, will be understood as constituting the energy gain of a particle having one electronic charge upon passing through a potential drop of one volt). Second, in the cases of pulsed-laser evaporation and sputtering, the activated depth of source material can be in the range of only tens of nanometers, which results in stoichiometric (congruent) vaporization of multi-element materials, thereby assisting (albeit not necessarily guaranteeing) a stoichiometric deposit. Third, in all of the energy-beam processes, much of the vapor acquires energy well above the thermal energy of the surface of the source material, and this energy can greatly assist the deposition process. Atoms thermally evaporated by narrow energy beams acquire most of their energy by interaction with the beam in the vapor phase, while sputtered atoms have high energies at the time they leave the surface of the source material. In the case of ionized vapor, this energy can be further increased by accelerating ions toward the surface of the depositing film, which is accomplished by applying a negative bias to the substrate. Energy can also be directed at the deposition surface through the mechanism of either energetic-atom condensation or ion bombardment, which can result in significant improvement in film adherence and structure.
FIG. 1 illustrates the widely used parallel-plate plasma configuration, commonly known as a planar diode and generally designated 10. Two electrodes, a cathode 12 and an anode 14, are parallel to each other and spaced apart from each other by a distance or electrode gap L. Anode 14 can be at ground or alternatively driven with an RF bias source 16 and associated capacitor 16A (shown in phantom), and cathode 12 is driven negative by a power supply 18. A glow-discharge plasma 20 is generated between the two electrodes and confined by a grounded metal vacuum containment wall 22. The bulk of plasma 20 floats above ground by the plasma potential, and has little voltage drop across it because of its high conductivity relative to that of its sheaths. This means that essentially all of the applied voltage appears across the cathode sheath. This voltage drop results in high-energy ion bombardment of cathode 12 by positive ions 24 and sputtering of cathode 12 as represented by sputtered atom 26. The cathode voltage drop also sustains plasma 18 by accelerating secondary electrons 28 emitted from cathode 12 into plasma 18 where they initiate a cascade of ionizing collisions. As illustrated, diode 10 can be operated under an applied DC voltage or an RF voltage.
The DC parallel-plate glow discharge typically operates at a pressure in the approximately 3-300 Pa range and at an applied voltage of approximately 1000-2000 V. The exact pressure range will depend on electrode gap L and gas composition. At pressures below the limit, not enough collisions occur before the electrons reach anode 14. At higher pressures, the discharge tends to switch to the concentrated, low-voltage arc mode, especially at high power. The high voltage of the DC glow discharge is required so that each secondary electron 28 emitted from cathode 12 can produce enough ionizing collisions before losing its energy. A small increase in voltage results in a large increase in current because of the cascade effect, so for good power control a current-regulated power supply is used. To xe2x80x9cstrikexe2x80x9d (initiate) the discharge, it is often necessary to supply a spike of higher voltage, or to adjust pressure to a minimum so that the gas will break down at the voltage available.
Secondary electrons 28 emitted from cathode 12 first cross a xe2x80x9cdark spacexe2x80x9d generally designated 30. This region is xe2x80x9cdarkxe2x80x9d because an insufficient number of inelastic collisions with molecules occur for any glow from the excited states of the molecules to be observed. The width of dark space 30 may be smaller than that of the sheath at high pressure and low plasma density, or it may be greater in the opposite case. Since the electrons follow the sheath field, which is perpendicular to the cathode surface, the electrons travel in a broad parallel beam and accordingly are known as xe2x80x9cbeamxe2x80x9d electrons. After acceleration, the beam electrons pass into the xe2x80x9cnegative glowxe2x80x9d region of plasma 20, where they ionize gas molecules and lose their directionality due to scattering. If electrode gap L is smaller than the width of the negative glow, the beam electrons are likely to reach anode 14 before undergoing an ionizing collision. Such a discharge is said to be xe2x80x9cobstructed,xe2x80x9d and any further decrease in electrode gap L causes a sharp rise in voltage and ultimately extinction of plasma 20. The width of the negative glow is roughly equal to the mean free path for ionizing collisions. Undesired discharges along the back of cathode 12 and its voltage lead 32 can be prevented by installing a grounded xe2x80x9cdark-space shieldxe2x80x9d (not shown) along these surfaces.
A mode of plasma-enhanced chemical activation generally known as xe2x80x9creactive sputteringxe2x80x9d uses a sputtered source material along with a gaseous one. The gas becomes dissociated in the sputtering plasma and reacts to form a compound film. The parallel-plate plasma configuration of FIG. 1 can be used to supply vapor for film deposition by sputter-erosion of cathode 12, which in this case is termed the xe2x80x9ctargetxe2x80x9d material. Often, the plasma is magnetized using a magnetron assembly generally designated 40, as described hereinbelow. In either case, cathode 12 is bombarded by plasma ions 24 having energies approaching the externally applied voltage, although ion energy is distributed downwardly by scattering in the sheath. Chief effects of the plasma on sputtering process behavior are: (1) reactive sputtering, (2) scattering of the particles by the plasma gas, (3) negative-ion ejection from the target, and (4) resputtering. Resputtering involves the acceleration of plasma ions into the substrate using a negative bias. The resultant resputtering of the depositing film can produce effective planarization of rough topography, and the bombardment can modify film structure in various known ways.
In the technique of reactive sputtering, a reactive gas (e.g., N2) is added to the sputtering plasma (e.g., argon gas plasma) in order to shift compound-film stoichiometry in sputtering from a compound target, or to deposit a compound film from a metallic target (e.g., Al). Compound deposition by reactive sputtering from a metallic target generally lowers target fabrication costs and increases target purity as compared to using a compound target, but process control can be more difficult if film composition is critical.
Even at the lowest operable pressure of the DC-diode plasma, there is considerable gas scattering of sputtered particles as they cross the plasma, with consequent loss of their desirable kinetic energy and loss of deposition rate by backscattering. Magnetic confinement is widely used to reduce minimum pressure and thus avoid these problems. Scattering of the sputtered particles also broadens their spread of incident angles at the substrate. Thermalization and spreading together cause a generally undesirable shift in film microstructure from a bombardment-compacted structure (e.g., xe2x80x9cZone Txe2x80x9d) to the more porous and weakly bonded structure (e.g., xe2x80x9cZone 1xe2x80x9d). Operation at lower plasma pressure using magnetron assembly 40 avoids this problem.
With respect to negative ions ejected from a compound target, when one element has a low ionization potential (e.g., 6 eV) and the other has a high electron affinity (e.g., 2 eV) so that the difference between the two becomes small, it is likely that the latter element will be sputtered as a negative ion rather than as a neutral atom. Negative ions are accelerated into the plasma along with the beam electrons by the cathode sheath field. For pressures above about 1 Pa, the negative ions will be stripped of the extra electron in the plasma. But unless the product of electrode gap L and gas pressure is very high, the ion can still cross to the depositing film and bombard it with enough energy to damage or erode the film. When the negative-ion flux is substantial in glow-discharge sputtering of compounds, problems can be encountered at both low and high operating pressures. At low pressure, the desirable kinetic energy of the sputtered particles is retained but negative-ion damage can result. At high pressure, the undesirable negative-ion energy is dissipated but Zone T film structure can be lost as a result of thermalization and scattering.
When employing a planar-diode plasma configuration to cause sputtering, the beam electrons ejected from cathode 12 must undergo enough ionizing collisions with the gas to sustain plasma 20 before the beam electrons reach anode 14 and are removed there. This requirement places a lower limit on operating pressure, and can be enhanced through the use of magnetron assembly 40, as illustrated in FIG. 1. Magnetron assembly 40 typically includes a central bar magnet 42 and an outer ring magnet or magnets 44 of opposite pole. Magnetron 40 produces a cross-wise magnetic field over cathode 12. The magnetic field traps the beam electrons in orbits near the cathode surface. As a result, the path lengths of the beam electrons are significantly increased before the electrons finally escape to anode 14 by collisional scattering. Because the paths of the electrons become longer than electrode gap L, the minimum pressure needed to sustain plasma 20 is much lower (typically 0.1 Pa rather than 3 Pa) when using magnetron 40 as compared with planar diode 10 without magnetron 40. At a lower pressure (e.g., 0.1 Pa), the sputtered particles retain most of their kinetic energy upon reaching the substrate, and this energy has advantageous effects on the structure of the depositing film. In addition, deposition rate is increased due to reduced scattering and redeposition of sputtered particles on cathode 12. Moreover, the beam electrons are utilized more efficiently, with the result that a lower applied voltage (e.g., approximately 500 V) is required to sustain a plasma of a given density, and the voltage increases less steeply with power input as compared to a non-magnetron planar diode configuration. Negative ions can still be a problem, however. Also, a highly non-uniform erosion pattern appears on the target cathode surface. If negative ions influence the film during deposition, this pattern can become imprinted on the film as it is being deposited on a stationary substrate as a result of the beam nature of the negative ions. However, since the sputtered particles are neutral and are emitted in a generally cosine distribution, the non-uniformity of the deposition rate is less sharply imprinted on the film. It should also be noted that, as in the case of planar diodes, magnetrons can be operated under RF excitation if power is to be coupled through insulating targets.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, magnetron 40 has a planar, circular configuration. The target material of cathode 12 is a disc, typically 3-10 mm thick, and is bonded (such as by soldering, for good thermal contact) to a water-cooled copper backing plate 50. The water coolant can be deionized to prevent electrolytic corrosion between electrically biased backing plate 50 and a grounded water supply 52. Cathode 12 is often floated off ground with a ceramic insulating ring (not shown). Containment wall 22 serves as an anode, although grounded shields (not shown) can be added to confine the sputtered material. The cross-wise magnetic field is established by magnets 42 and 44. Magnets 42 and 44 are connected on the back by an iron xe2x80x9cfield-returnxe2x80x9d plate 46 to complete the magnetic circuit and to confine the magnetic field.
Upon igniting plasma 20, beam electrons emitted from cathode 12 are accelerated into plasma 20 by the electric field of the cathode sheath. The presence of the magnetic field, represented by virtual magnetic field lines B in FIG. 2, causes the beam electrons to curve into orbits as a result of the Lorentz force, F=FE+FB=qeE+qevxc3x97B. The radius of the orbit (referred to as the gyratron, cyclotron or Larmor radius) depends on the strength of the magnetic field and on the electron velocity component perpendicular to the magnetic field. In order for the magnetic field to have an effect on the beam electrons, the pressure must be low enough (typically less than a few Pa) that the electron mean free path is not significantly less than the orbit radius. If this condition is met, the beam electrons are said to be xe2x80x9cmagnetizedxe2x80x9d although the ions are not magnetized. Magnetron 40 can operate as a sputtering source at much higher pressures, but in such cases gas scattering dominates the behavior of the beam electrons instead of the magnetic field itself.
Under lower pressure conditions, the beam electrons emitted from the target surface of cathode 12 or created by ionization in the sheath field are accelerated vertically by the electric field and simultaneously forced sideways by the magnetic field. The beam electrons eventually reverse direction and return toward the target. As the beam electrons are thus directed toward the target, they decelerate in the electric field until their direction is again reversed, and the cycle repeats. As specifically shown in FIG. 2, the net motion or path of these electrons is a circular drift path, designated Exc3x97B, around the circle of the target. This drift path is in the direction of the Exc3x97B vector product. Magnetron 40 is ordinarily designed such that the Exc3x97B drift path closes on itself so that the beam electrons do not pile up or accumulate at some location.
Additionally, cathodic structures have been developed to enhance processing-scale plasmas such as magnetrons and RF diodes by taking advantage of the xe2x80x9chollow cathodexe2x80x9d effect, a phenomenon which generally involves utilizing geometric means to trap secondary electrons emitted from an ion-bombarded target cathode. When a hollow-cathode-type structure is driven to a very high discharge current, its cathode surfaces heat to a temperature sufficient to cause thermionic emission of electrons, and the local plasma glow discharge will enter the arc mode. A hollow cathode, typically constructed of a refractory material and provided with a local gas supply, can be a useful source of moderately energetic electrons for plasmas.
Referring to FIG. 3, a sputter transport device generally designated 60 includes a planar configuration of a magnetron generally designated 62, a target cathode 64, a substrate holder 66, and a substrate 68, all of which are situated in a containment chamber 70. A hollow cathode generally designated 72 is provided in the form of a tube 72A having a tantalum tip 72B. A gas source (not specifically shown) is connected to one end of hollow cathode 72, and a small aperture or orifice 72C is provided at the tip. Aperture 72C restricts the gas flow and results in a large pressure differential across tip 72B. The inner pressure of hollow cathode 72 is typically in the range of several hundred mTorr. Electrons are emitted by biasing hollow cathode 72 negatively with respect to the local plasma potential (which is usually the ground potential). A hollow cathode having a diameter of only a few millimeters can be employed to produce an electron current of several to ten amperes. An external heater or a short-term, high-voltage spike is typically used to heat hollow cathode 72 to the temperature required for emission.
In FIG. 3, hollow cathode 72 is situated in the fringe region of the magnetic field of magnetron 62 to supply additional electrons to the magnetron discharge. Hollow cathode 72 serves to decouple the current-voltage relation of the diode plasma and allow operation of the plasma at wide ranges of voltage and current, as well as to lower the operating pressure in chamber 70. Hollow cathode 72 can operate at 0.1 mTorr, which is below the range of the more conventional magnetron/diode arrangement described hereinabove and illustrated in FIG. 1. If conventional magnetron/diode arrangements were to operate at these lower pressures, there would be not be enough gas atoms for efficient ionization by the secondary electrons. The additional supply of electrons from hollow cathode 72, however, removes this limitation and allows operation at approximately 0.1 mTorr for magnetron arrangements, and approximately 0.5 mTorr for RF-diode arrangements. Such pressures are well into the long mean free path mode, and sputtered atoms or ions move in straight, line-of-sight trajectories without gas scattering.
A magnetron sputter device enhanced with a hollow cathode source capable of emitting a high electron current is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,490 to Cuomo et al., the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference. Similar to the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3 of the present disclosure, the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,490 combines a hollow cathode electron emitting device with a known plasma sputter etching/deposition device, in order to provide additional ionization of the working or background gas during normal magnetron operation and to provide gas ionization at low magnetron energies. The hollow cathode source is provided in the form of a tantalum tube, and is positioned such that it is immersed in the transverse magnetic field near the magnetron cathode target surface, but neither electrically nor physically impedes the magnetron Exc3x97B drift current. The discharge plasma initiated and maintained within the hollow cathode is thermionic in nature. The hollow cathode is biased negative with respect to plasma potential, which causes thermionic heating of the tantalum tip. The thermionically emitted electrons become trapped and distributed around the magnetron drift loop by a modified Exc3x97B effect. These electrons are energetic enough to cause ionization of the background gas and to ionize the argon gas flowing through the tantalum tip. The increased ionization forms a denser plasma, such as dense plasma region 76 in FIG. 3, than can be produced by the magnetron alone, which plasma is characterized by a lower impedance that results in increased currents at constant voltage.
While hollow cathode enhanced sputtering devices provide advantages over many of the other deposition techniques described hereinabove, there are still drawbacks with regard to their use, owing to the fact that they are thermionic emitting electron devices. For instance, contamination is still observed to be a problem, particularly since the hollow cathode tip material tends to evaporate and mix with the growing deposition material. Another problem relates to the intense heat produced by thermionic emission, which can damage the growing material.
The present invention is provided to address these and other problems associated with the growth of thin films and bulk materials.
The present invention provides a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique enabled by a novel sputter material transport device to enhance thin-film and bulk material manufacturing processes. The novel transport device is capable of ultra-high deposition and growth rates, making it feasible for growing thick material and increasing throughput in manufacturing processes. The transport device can be used both to grow bulk crystalline materials and to deposit thin films and epitaxial layers onto bulk substrates. Generally, as compared to other sputter processes, the transport device of the present invention has the advantages of lowered processing pressure, higher deposition rates, higher ionization efficiency, and a controlled processing environment with no contamination. The novel device utilizes an enhanced sputtering process to rapidly deposit both metallic and dielectric materials. This enhancement allows the process to overcome the limitations of conventional PVD techniques.
The device according to the present invention can achieve growth rates in excess of ten times those achieved by any other direct deposition process. As currently tested, the device is capable of depositing single or polycrystalline material at a rate in excess of approximately 60 xcexcm/hr. This high deposition rate allows for high throughput capabilities and the possibility of manufacturing bulk materials in short time periods. The device enables increased growth rates due to the very high ionization efficiencies, which enhance the sputtering process without poisoning the sputtering material. The ability to deposit material at high deposition rates will have many commercial applications, including high-throughput manufacturing processes of thick films of exotic materials. Moreover, high-quality material can be deposited in a cost-effective manner. It is also projected that the device will aid in the commercialization of bulk dielectric and semiconductor materials and will have numerous applications to other materials.
The invention surpasses present technology by offering a non-contaminating method, as implemented by a triode sputtering device, to increase the ionization efficiency and hence the overall deposition rate. The device also has the advantage of a cooler operating temperature than a thermionic hollow cathode configuration, allowing the injector means of the device to be composed of low-temperature materials, and thus can apply to a broad range of materials as compared to conventional processes. The transport device can increase the deposition rate of the target material and lower the sputtering pressure, thereby enabling a line-of-sight deposition process.
The transport device is capable of growing bulk material such as aluminum nitride, gallium nitride, and other Group III nitrides and related binary, ternary, and quaternary alloys and compounds. The transport device is also capable of depositing metal in deep trenches for the semiconductor industry.
According to the present invention, the transport device includes a magnetron source and a non-thermionic electron (or, in effect, a plasma) injector assembly to enhance magnetron plasma. Preferably, the electron/plasma injector is disposed just below the surface of a cathode target material, and includes a plurality of non-thermionic, hollow cathode-type injector devices for injecting electrons into a magnetic field produced by a magnetron source. The injector can be scaled in a variety of configurations (e.g., circular or linear) to accommodate various magnetron shapes. When provided in the form of a circular ring, the injector includes multiple hollow cathodes located around the inner diameter of the ring.
The novel transport device constitutes an improvement over the previously developed hollow cathode enhanced magnetron sputtering device described hereinabove, in that the device is a non-thermionic electron emitter operating as a xe2x80x9ccoldxe2x80x9d plasma source and can be composed of the same material as its sputtering target. The injector can be manufactured out of high-purity metals (e.g., 99.9999%), thereby eliminating a source of contamination in the growing film. The addition of the injector to the magnetron sputtering process allows higher deposition rates as compared to rates previously achieved by conventional magnetron sputtering devices. Moreover, the transport device takes advantage of the hollow cathode effect by injecting electrons and plasma into the magnetic field to increase plasma densities without the contamination problem associated with a traditional, thermionic-emitting tantalum tip. As disclosed above, the transport device is further characterized by a decreased operating pressure and an increased ionization rate over conventional magnetron sputtering.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a sputter transport device comprises a sealable, pressure-controlled chamber defining an interior space, a target cathode disposed in the chamber, and a substrate holder disposed in the chamber and spaced at a distance from the target cathode. The target cathode is preferably bonded to a target cathode holder and negatively biased. A magnetron assembly is disposed in the chamber proximate to the target cathode. A negatively-biased, non-thermionic electron/plasma injector assembly is disposed between the target cathode and the substrate holder. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the injector assembly comprises a plurality of hollow cathode injectors disposed in fluid communication with a gas source. Each hollow cathode includes an orifice communicating with the interior space of the chamber.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an electron/plasma injector assembly is adapted for non-thermionically supplying plasma to a reaction chamber. The injector assembly comprises a main body and a plurality of replaceable or interchangeable gas nozzles. The main body has a generally annular orientation with respect to a central axis, and includes a process gas section and a cooling section. The process gas section defines a process gas chamber and the cooling section defines a heat transfer fluid reservoir. The gas nozzles are removably disposed in the main body in a radial orientation with respect to the central axis and in heat transferring relation to the heat transfer fluid reservoir. Each gas nozzle provides fluid communication between the process gas chamber and the exterior of the main body.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for depositing a sputtered material at a high deposition rate. A negatively-biased target cathode including a target material is provided in a sealed chamber. A substrate holder is provided in the chamber and spaced at a distance from the target cathode. An operating voltage is applied to the target cathode to produce an electric field within the chamber. A magnetron assembly is provided in the chamber to produce a magnetic field within the chamber. A negatively-biased, non-thermionic electron/plasma injector assembly is provided between the target cathode and the substrate holder to create an intense plasma proximate to the target cathode. A background gas is introduced into the chamber to provide an environment for generating a plasma medium. A portion of the target material is sputtered and transported through the plasma medium toward the substrate holder.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, a metal nitride material such as aluminum nitride, gallium nitride, or a related compound is produced according to the method disclosed herein. Ultra-high growth rates of approximately 0.05 xcexcm/min to approximately 10 xcexcm/min, diameters from approximately 1 inch to approximately 8 inches, and a thickness of at least approximately 1 mm or greater, can be achieved.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel sputter material transport device capable of ultra-high deposition and growth rates.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a transport device capable of growing both high-purity bulk crystals and thin films having nearly bulk properties and which can be either metallic, semiconducting or dielectric materials.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a transport device characterized by lowered processing pressure and higher ionization efficiency.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a transport device that operates without contamination.
Some of the objects of the invention having been stated hereinabove, other objects will become evident as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings as best described hereinbelow.